Latin America Is Losing Capacity to Fight Corruption at a Critical Time
Last edited Fri Jun 19, 2020, 09:19 AM - Edit history (2)
BY ROBERTO SIMON AND GEERT AALBERS | JUNE 8, 2020
The new CCC Index shows an anti-corruption wave receding as COVID-19 hits the region.
From the downfall of Bolivia’s health minister to investigations into Panama’s vice president, COVID-19 is not only spreading disease and economic pain, but also corruption scandals throughout Latin America. In many ways, this was a foreseen tragedy. Months ago, organizations like Transparency International, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the OECD Anti-Bribery Group were sounding the alarm about increased corruption risks related to coronavirus emergency spending. The need to rapidly mobilize massive resources – procuring expensive medical equipment, rolling out unprecedented stimulus packages and more – could create an environment ripe for corruption. And here we are.
The timing of the crisis is particularly concerning. COVID-19 is hitting Latin America while a region-wide anti-corruption wave that gained force a few years ago has lost steam and, in some countries, is dangerously receding. The scope and scale of this change is clear in the 2020 edition of our Capacity to Combat Corruption (CCC) Index, which assesses Latin American countries’ ability to detect, punish and prevent corruption.
The CCC Index doesn’t analyze perceptions or the economic damage caused by corruption. Instead, we draw on extensive public and proprietary data to assess the environment that allows – or precludes – countries to better tackle the problem. This environment is formed by multiple factors ranging from the independence and efficiency of courts and law enforcement agencies to the strength of democratic institutions, NGOs and investigative journalism. We understand that there is no silver bullet capable of drastically improving countries’ capacity to combat corruption. Real progress is only achieved through long-term and parallel gains in government, business and civil society.
The country with the highest score in the 2020 CCC Index is Uruguay (7.78 out of 10), meaning that it is more likely to see corrupt actors prosecuted and punished than the other countries. Uruguay was followed by Chile (6.57), Costa Rica (6.43), Brazil (5.52), Peru (5.47), Argentina (5.32), Colombia (5.18), Mexico (4.55), Ecuador (4.19), Panama (4.17), Guatemala (4.04), Paraguay (3.88), the Dominican Republic (3.26), Bolivia (2.71) and Venezuela (1.52). The score is composed of three sub-categories: legal capacity; democracy and political institutions; and civil society, media and the private sector.
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Looking at specific countries, Brazil is one of the most concerning cases. Although it still ranks fourth in the index, Brazil saw a 10% decline in its overall score, driven by setbacks in the legal capacity sub-category, which dropped 14% year-on-year. President Jair Bolsonaro’s pick for attorney general and changes in the Federal Police’s leadership, as well as judicial decisions negatively impacting white-collar crime investigations, are leading causes for the downward trajectory.
More:
https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/latin-america-is-losing-capacity-to-fight-corruption-at-a-critical-time/
